Doubt & Trust
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: He needs power to protect. He needs power, above all else, to protect his family, his nakama, himself. But all power corrupts, and how much is too much? Surrounded by enemies and allies, undying love is forged. Major AU, original storyline. IchigoxNel
1. Prologue

In Hueco Mundo, nearly everything is sand. There is no rain, there is no snow, there is nothing to look forward to at the end of the day, other than the perpetual and featureless crescent moon that so defined the eternal night of the hollow world.

You cannot sleep. You cannot stop to rest. You cannot lower your guard for an instant in this hellish place You must always keep moving, keep running, keep eating. Failure to do so will result in a slow and painful death born of starvation and insanity.

Something she was entirely unused to.

The white and blue figure looked around, trying to gain some direction in her first time here. There was sand under her hooves, and around her was trees, white trees as though they were petrified stone. Above her was a roof made of what looked like sand. A strange growling sound distracted her from her examination of the surroundings.

An Adjuchas Hollow landed in a cloud of dust, trying to understand how _it _had ended up here. He and his partner had been in the living world, dining on human souls with strong spirit energy, before a man in a white haori had thrown them in here.

This Hollow was in the shape of a humanoid lizard, white with red markings along it. A tail tipped in red thrashed about behind it. The Hollow's feet were birdlike, the arms and chest powerfully muscled. Spikes protruded from the shoulders, and a mane of spiky orange hair went down the back. The mask was surprisingly simple, just big enough to cover the face, with nine red lines on the left side.

Another, smaller hollow, no bigger than a child, sat on his shoulder. Her, for her slim build couldn't be anything other than female, mask was strangely reminiscent of a teardrop, curving down to cover her head and throat, where whisps of pink hair dangled to cover her back and the hollow hole positioned there.

Now they noticed her. The smaller hollow made a sound that sounded somewhat like a giggle, then pointed one tiny finger at the newcomer, to which her companion nodded ominously. The lower hollow trembled when the Adjuchas decided to approach, its steps slow and lurching, dragging his tail behind his bulky frame. Immediately, she considered running, but she supsected he could move at much greater speeds if he so chose.

When he was less than a foot away, he stopped, and stared down at her chest, gazing in wonder at the hole, much like his own that went clear through her being. That was the source, the cause of the strange pulling in his chest. He stared curiously, wondering what the pulling sensation was. It was familiar, yet different.

A low, burbling growl slithered out from behind the mask. He leaned forward, and traced her mask with the tip of his index finger, stopping only when the solitary digged poked at her chin. She tried to skitter back, but a warning snarl from the other hollow prevented her from doing so.

There was something she needed to remember about this person, something of the utmost importance. Unable to recall it, she turned to the right, momentarily startled when a pair of voices called to the looming hollow.

"Ichi-nii! We're baaaack!"

The newcomers weren't quite as short as the hollow perched upon his shoulder, but they were close. The first, was a petite little thing, her mask shaped in the form of the star, closely resembling the infamous star of David symbol. She immediately ran to the hulking hollow, her light and effortless skips effortlessly carrying her through the air and to the open positiong on his left shoulder.

The second, moved at a more leisurely pace, her casual gait reflecting no such signs of giddiness. Her mask was shaped like that of a serpent's, but broken, chipped, even cracked in places, as if she'd tried to pull it off with those sickle shaped claws that replaced what should have been human fingernails.

She paused, took one look at the unlikely gathering, then shrugged before walking the rest of the way after her companion.

The as of yet unamed hollow, now known only as Ichi-nii, stepped back and made a sharp barking sound, which she soon recognized as coarse and rough laughter, judging by the way the two hollow on his shoulders giggled in reply. He knelt down to scoop the black haired hollow into a tight embrace, to which she made a small squeaking sound of surprise.

"Gah! C'mon, lemme go!"

Immediately, he did so, but stared at the girl questioningly.

"You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine, see?"

"But you were gone for an hour-

"Oh stop worrying already!"

"No, you stop backsassing me!"

His voice was that of a young man, probably in his late teens. You really wouldn't expect a monster like this to have such a normal voice like that, or expect him to playfully tussle with another hollow, but then again, after today, she really didn't know what to expect.

"Neh, neh, Icchi, what about her?"

Immediately, the mood changed, all playfulness leaving his eyes.

"Oh, yeah I almost forgot about you. Thanks, Yachiru"

She fumed as he swiveled his gaze upon her once more. That little pink haired twerp must really have it out for her, judging by the way she was giggling as she swung to and fro on one of his shoulder spikes. Too late, she could only quiver in fear as his tail extended to loop itself around her body, then hoisted her into the air before them.

"Huh, what _should_ we do about her?"

"Ichi-nii." Yuzu looked up at him pleadingly. The adjuchas stiffened, looked as if he wanted to say something, then decided against it.

He held his victim there for a moment longer, before abruptly releasing her. He didn't apologize when she fell to the ground in a confused heap, instead, he immediately made a demand of her.

"Wha'ts your name?"

"Neliel Tu Oderschvank." She managed quietly, refusing to look him in the eye as she picked herself up. "W-Who might you be?"

Twisting its head, the hollow made a quiet mewling sound and began to scratch at the back of its head, the quiet scraping sound becoming more and more aggravated as it sought to recall the memory. Who might he be? It was a phrase of sorts, some important title that it must've cherished when it was still alive.

"My name....is Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo, ah yes, now he remembered. The hollow tilted his head to the right, rolling the name around in his head. Yes, that sounded about right. It had a faint of nostalgia to it, almost as if the name had been said a thousand times.

"So what's it gonna be?" He asked again. "You wanna come with?"

"I....

"Ah, so this is where you were."

The moment broken, Ichigo whirled around, leapt forward, and roared a challenge to whoever it was that had just spoken, but a green beam of light slammed into him, drilling the adjuchas into the ground as he threw himself in the way of the blast.

"I see. You were capable of evading my cero, and yet you took the blow, for the sake of protecting your allies. Interesting."

Picking himself out of the dirt, Kurosaki shrugged off the concern of his companions, only to find himself standing before a slim, humanoid looking adjuchas, for it had be an adjuchas by its spiritual pressure. Two thin wings, much like a bat's, and a long, thin tail, similair to that found on a demon, extended from his lower back, leading up to a frace framed and walled off by a traditional samurai masked helmet.

"Bastard!" Ichigo snarled, raised his hand, fingers forming a tip. "How's this for interesting?!" Immediately, the red light of his own cero forced itself into existence, coallescing into a small soccerball sized sphere. Behind the mask, he grinned wildly.

"Ce-

"Yo, can't we just eat these guys?!"

"Absolutely not, Yammy." The unamed adjuchas never once turned his juniper eyes away from the seething hollow before him, but Ichigo turned his gaze towards the source of darkness thad had suddenly fallen over them.

"Eh?"

The cero sputtered and died as he looked up, up up...

Up.

Behind him, was a massive figure on a set of eight legs, apparentely this massive guy's name was Yammy. Actually, massive was a _massive_ understatement, no pun intended. This guy made mountains look puny, so great was his mass, his very shadow blanketing them all in further shadow from the moon. His body was muscular yes, but it was his massive bony tail and thick forearms that Ichigo eyed with some skepticism.

Was this guy really all brains, or just brawn? He certainly looked stupid, but he didn't want to risk attacking him, not with Karin and Yuzu so close to the battlefield. His cero was strong, but there was just now way he could take out _both_ of them with one shot.

Surprsisingly, the first hollow suddenly extended its hand, a wan smile spreading across the once cold, apathetic face. The hollow eyed the hand warily. Aside from Yuzu, Karin, and Yachiru, he knew no friendship amongst his own kind, after all, he'd never really been here before.

"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer." The hollow introduced himself. "Pardon me for repeating the words of your comrade, but who might _you_ be?"

"...Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Greetings then, Kurosaki Ichigo." The smile vanished as quickly as it came. "I would like to ask you something."

The pulling in his chest lessened somewhat as he finally shook hands with the bat-like adjuchas. The hollow's hand was ice cold, and he was very unnerving to be around, but until he could get his nakama away from the fray, Ichigo was in no hurry to batle.

"So...now what? Whaddya want."

"Well," Yammy said through an enormous grin, "We're on a quest to become vasto lorde. That's where you guys come in."

Neliel stiffened slightly, his eyes glinting yellow behind the mask of porcelain and bone. Everyone, every hollow that is, knew what a vasto lorde was, and what they could do. They were born with that terrible knowledge ingrained into their minds, likely as a warning to never, ever tangle with the only hollow that could outmatch a shinigami captain.

"You're nuts." Ichigo said with a shake of his head, tossing his orange mane too and fro. "What in kami's name makes you think you two can take down a vasto lorde by yourselves?"

"As an Adjuchas, you have to keep devouring other Hollows, otherwise the Hollows that you've already devoured will overcome your mind, and you'll revert back into a Gillian, and this time, you'll lose your sense of identity, and just become another faceless Gillian. It is my belief that we are after the same thing." The bat-like hollow now grew solemn, in contrast to his comrade's usual beligerent tone.

"There is one step higher on the Hollow evolution chain than Adjuchas. Vasto Lorde. The most powerful Hollows in all of Hueco Mundo. That's what we're trying to become. If you were to join, your companions would not come to any harm, you have my assurances. After all, there is, safety in numbers."

Brief and to the point. Ichigo chose quickly, knowing that if he had more power, than it would be easier to protect Karin and Yuzu. He knew jack squat about Neliel, but she seemed more reluctant to comiit violence, then to stab them in the back. And these two looked genuinely strong, close, if not equal to his own power. Better to be with them, than against them, after all.

"We're in."

A unlikey fellowship had been forged.

_(Two months later)_

Right now, Ichigo was really, really beginning to regret that deal. Since that time, Neliel had become an adjuchas, but that was only because Ichigo gave her the leftovers of his meals. It was sad, really. Neliel just couldn't bring herself to kill, no matter the situation.

Now, with her most recent transformation, Neliel Tu Oderschvank stood on four hoofed legs and displayed a far more interesting palette of colors than when they'd first met. As opposed to white, she was now mostly green, green fur and placid hazel eyes, glinting through the slits of her grey skull mask, with two horns curving behind her head. She might even had a human torso underneath all that armor, or so Ulquiorra hinted at once during a brief rest from their endless quest to become vasto lorde.

"Damnit! We've been walking for at least half a day already! Where the hell is he?!"

Now, Neliel sighed, her eyes sliding shut in preparation for yet another one of Yammy's many outbursts.

"Come out here, ya pussy bastard!" Once more, his deep voice bellowed out overhead, nearly deafening his companions for the fifth time that afternoon. "I said get out here! Quit hiding like the friggin piece of trash you are and come fight us!"

"Quiet." Ulquiorra abruptly stopped in mid-step raised his tail in warning, pointing it at one of Yammy's many legs. Immediately, everyone pasued, Neliel tensing up for fear of another fight, Ichigo prepared to step back if need be. He and Ulquiora were (arguably) the strongest of their little fellowship. He'd seen what that thin appendage could do, and slicing through Yammy's skin would be child's play for him.

"Maybe we'd be able to find him if you'd keep quiet, Yammy. With all your tumbling about, I'm not surprised that he's stayed hidden thus far. Perhaps if I lopped off one of yours legs, you'd simmer down?" For a moment, it looked as if Ulquiorra would actually go through with his threat, but no, with a snort, Yammy backed down, the massive hollow muttering something about trampling every single vasto lorde to hell when they finally found them.

Ichigo, his ears still ringing from the verbal tirade, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and boredom. They'd been roaming the desert listlessly for at least a month now, the only interesting aspects of their incursion being the occasional conflict with an occasional gropu of adjuchas or two, which of course, they'd easily crushed after playing with them for an hour or so.

Their latest quarry, a vasto lorde they'd stumbled upon months ago, was horribly elusive, and slippery to boot, always slipping away just before they could catch up with him, always little more than a barely distinguisable dot on the gloomy horizon of Hueco Muendo. As their heels crunched against the cool sand, and Karin and Yuzu rested in his arms, Ichigo had the time to think back on when things had been a bit more interesting.

His sisters, still not yet adjuchas, could afford to sleep, so long as someone kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Such had been their routine. Hunt down a few adjuchas, let Karin and Yuzu rest, repeat.

Regret. That was what he felt now. It was taking time, but sooner or later, his sisters would become adjuchas, and once that happened, sleep would no longer become an option. The shinigami they'd happened upon months ago, the man who'd promised them power, promised them peace, had only shown up once during those scant thirty days, and even then it was only to pay her a brief thank you for saving him from that hollow. He'd promised to show up again, but it seemed like such a long time ago now...

When would he show up again?

"You are pursuing me." It was a statement, not a question, as the black speck they'd been stalking, suddenly grew to the full size of six foot five humanoid male with a sharp buzz of sonido. "And I commend you for your persistence."

Ulquiorra displayed a rare lapse of characater and swore, his eyes widening slightly as a brutal reaitsu buffeted them. This was no mere vasto lorde, its reaitsu was far too high for something like that, too thick and dense to even be compared to that measly level.

Even Yammy, with his massive girth and size, was incapacitated by the sheer weight of the spiritual pressure. Karin and Yuzu had just enough time to gasp in surprise, before they too were immobilized. Only Ichigo and Yachiru could stand under this pressure, and even then, just barely.

"Now, what do you want with me?" The arrancar turned his gaze towards him, and it was then that Ichigo got a good look at their quarry. His chest, muscled like most hollow, was armored and blackened, where his hollow hole could easily be seen, and that same armor halted at his midsection, leaving his white hakama pants be. Though it did mold around his face, framing it in a type of helmet, which now peeled away to reveal a very human face, dark hair hanging over into his eyes.

"You've obviously been pursuing me for a reason."

It was his arms that warranted further attention.

His right arm was more of a shield, extending from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm with the same intricate pattern as before, surrounding what appeared to be Hollow-like teeth in the center and a rose like pattern or skeletal nose and eyes near the end.

The left arm was white, with a red stripe running down the length of the center. His fingertips were of red diamond shaped marks on them. A spike protruded from the shoulder and two more resembling claws extended over his chest.

A vasto lorde _arrancar_, Ichigo realized as Yachiru hopped off his back. Ichigo was staring a fully evolved hollow, with its mask removed, right in the face, and he was completely and totally unfazed by the combined reaitsu of their little rag tag group.

_'Shit' _He swore to himself, nearly falling to his knees in a panic. _'Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!'_

"My name is Sado Yastura." The arrancar rumbled again, its eyes narrowing again as they slowly ran over the unlikely trio. "And as I said before, what is that you want from me?"

**_Next time: Unlikely alliance, unlikely ally. Birth of vasto lorde._**


	2. Eye of the Beholder

Well, this was unexpected. Running into a vasto lorde was one thing, but a vasto lorde arrancar was something else entirely. For a moment, the group maintained its silence, unwilling to answer...

"We're here to eat you, Muscles!"

Another moment of silence, then everyone in the group glared at the speaker.

"Sh!" Ichigo snarled, clamping a clawed hand over where Yachiru's mouth should be. "Know when to be quiet, would you?!"

"But Ichiiiii, you said-

"I said shut up! Let me do the talking here!"

--

_(One explanation later)_

"I see."

Sado leaned back on his haunches, gazing intensely at Karin and Yuzu, mulling over the tale Ichigo had just told him. He'd been surprised, really, pleasantly surprised, to learn that this ragtag group of hollows actually had two little ones amongst them. Clearly the fact that they were still alive spoke for itself. They must've been very well protected, if they weren't even adjuchas yet.

"I will allow your sisters to take a piece of me."

"What?!" Ichigo nearly coked on his spit. "Just like that?!"

"Just like that." Sado replied solemnly. "I have already reached the pinnacle of my evolution, therefore, I see no need to horde my power." Then his eyes fell upon Yammy, Ulquiorra, and last, but certainly not least, Neliel. "But regrettably, I cannot allow _the three of you_ or yourself to do so."

"Why the hell not?!" Yammy snarled.

"I do not possess regeneration." Sado explained quietly. "In fact, I am tremendously slow to heal. Therefore, if I were to offer my power more than twice, I myself would disappear and cease to exist. You have my most sincere apologies. You truly do seem like decent folk, but I cannot forfeit my life just yet, as there is still something I must do."

Ichigo surprised everyone by shrugging.

"Nah, its cool. I wanted to work for it anyway. Karin, Yuzu, go ahead."

Gently, he beckoned Karin and Yuzu forward.

"Go ahead." Ichigo ordered.

If it was possible for Ichigo's mask to smile, then he would have done so. Instead, he just nodded gruffly and shooed his sisters onward. Initially, they were hesitant to take a nibble, but when Sado held out his arm, Karin warily raised one her sickle shaped claws.

"Arigatou, Chad."

"It's Sado."

Karin shrugged, and brought the toxin filled tip down as if she didn't care, looking on quietly as they snipped off a thick piece of flesh.

If Sado was in pain, he made no indication to show it. Instead, he only nodded, and allowed Yuzu to carve through his iron skin as well. They were still a bit uncouth in their distaste of eating hollows, but at Ichigo's insistence, each swallowed the small tidbit they'd taken.

The effect was downright immediate. Karin winced as her shoulders sprouted a wicked set of spikes, whilst her claws went from a dull tainted grey, to a bright insidious yellow. Her mask remained the same really, if not for becoming more streamlined and more serpentine. She'd even acquired a tail like Ichigo's in the proccess, though it was a bright azure blue, just like the rest of her, unlike the distinctive red white of her brother.

Yuzu, however, went through a bit more drastic of a change. Three of the six points on her mask abruptly dissolved as it melded itself into an almost human skull shape, and actually grew horns, with her body maintaining its usual shape.

From her back, two wings burst into existence, spraying feathers about. They were like Ulquiorra's, in a sense, though Yuzu's wings were more feathery and golden colored, than they were leathery compared to that of the other Adjuchas.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

Yuzu took one look at her new wings and let out a small squeal as she experimentally extended her new appendages. The wings swept outward, creating a wingspan somewhere betwen four and five feet.

"Look! I'm an angel!"

Ichigo sighed, and Karin groaned.

"Does that answer your question?"

--

_(The next day)_

The group bounded across the dunes, making no effort to conceal their prescense as they thundered across the perpetual night of Hueco Muendo. Then again, with someone as big as Yammy in their party, stealth was out of the question anyway, so what was the point?

"Ichigo, I would like to ask you something."

"What?" Ichigo, running on all fours, didn't even bother to glance in her direction, he just kept leaping forward, content to have Karin and Yuzu perched on his shoulders, with Yachiru swinging too and fro on his mane. Sado HAD done something valuable for them, beside giving his sisters new power, albeit at the cost of sleep.

He'd told them where to find a vasto lorde, then asked to be let alone and let Inoue tend to his freely given injuries. That guy really was something else, not flinching with a wound like that. Karin's poison might hurt like hell, but she was still too weak to make it lethal enough to kill.

Who this...Inoue person was, he had no idea. He didn't particularly care either, so long as they got to their next destination, and soon.

"Why did you spare _that_ vasto lorde? Why did you leave him behind us instead of devouring him?"

Ichigo, irked at again being jarred from his thoughts, considered questioning why Neliel was suddenly so interested in cannibalizing hollows, but decided to ask _that_ question at another time.

"He said he had something left to do." The adjuchas raised his bulky shoulders in a heavy shrug, not pausing to slow his pace as Yuzu bounced from her perch to land on the opposite shoulder. "It musta been important, so I let him go. Besides, did you see his reaitsu? He'd have wiped the floor with us if we tried to attack him. If its alright with you, I'd rather have that guy on _our_ side."

In that moment, Neliel Tu Oderschvank felt a strange sensation in her chest, just above the hollow hole in her navel. Ichigo _never_ showed mercy to his enemies, unless they begged for a quick death that is. And here, he'd just passed up the chance to become a vasto lorde, the most powerful of all hollows in Hueco Muendo.

"I do not understand you."

Immediately, his gaze found hers.

"Look Nel," Ichigo began, his tail swishing slowly behind him. "Before I answer that, I've got a question of my own. I've been pulling for you ever since you joined up with us, and you still haven't explained why you refused to hunt hollow. You gotta toss me a bone here."

Now it was Nel's turn to hesitate.

"I...cannot."

"C'mon, is it really that complicated-

"More than you know." She answered curtly, surprising him. Neliel rarely ever asserted herself in such a manner. She'd always been more of a follower, eating a hollow only when the voices in her head threatened to consume her. "I'd thank you to drop the matter, Kurosaki.."

Ichigo wasn't going to tolerate that frosty tone, Nel knew it the moment those words left her mouth. He'd ripped an adjuchas to pieces once, just for looking at him the wrong way. Mouthing off wasn't much higher on his list of _'things I hate'._

"How about I drop you." The pleasant tone became more of a fierce hiss, his eyes glowing yellow with anticipation as his tail suddenly jabbed itself forward, warning her to be quiet. "Don't lie to me, I think I already know why you won't eat another hollow, not unless you have to. You're close, aren't you?"

Her glare was the only reply he received.

"Conflicts amongst allies is never a good sign." Both Ichigo and Neliel whirled to face the unfamiliar voice.

What they saw was an oddity, even among hollow. Taller than Ichigo, with a lower body that looked like a pumpkin, eyes all over his body and a skull-like mask, the other Adjuchas looked like nothing either Ichigo or Neliel had ever seen.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo growled.

"Ah, pardon me for failing to introduce myself. I am Zommari Leroux, a vasto lorde who is on the path to becoming an arrancar."

Vasto Lorde. The words rang through everyone's minds.

"Is that so?" Yammy asked, grinning as he ambled into view. "Well, we happen to be on the same path. And we don't like competition." Ulquiorra looked over at Ichigo. "What do you think? We've been looking for one of them for a while now, how does he sound?"

Ichigo grinned back at Zomari. "I think that he'll do nicely."

Zommari sighed. "Such arrogance. Taking your eyes off of your enemy without knowing a thing about his capabilities, not taking a fight seriously, I truly do pity the two of you." Two of the eyes that covered Zommari's body began to glow. Ulquiorra jumped out of the way of the attack, while Ichigo covered his face with one hand and rolled to the side.

Yammy snorted. "That's it? Some kind of light show?"

Ichigo laughed. "I didn't even feel anything."

"What makes you think that my attack was meant to harm _you?"_ Zommari asked. "Everything in existence is about control. If you control yourself, you are a better fighter than one who simply rushes in. If you control the battlefield, you can manipulate it to how you see fit. If you control your enemy…" Zommari trailed off.

"What the hell?" Ichigo's lunged to the side, surprised as a massive fist turned the stone beneath him into pebbles. It didn't take much to guess who the culprit was, judging by the startled cry.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Yammy?!" Ichigo snarled, darting away as the hand reached out for him once more. "I thought we were on the same side!"

"It's not me!" The massive hollow hissed in dismay, the rare emotion of disbelief barely visible upon his face as he stared down at the strange mark covering the length of his elbow. "I can't control my arm!"

"You see what I mean?" Zommari asked. Now that he was looking, Ichigo could see a small black mark that looked like a sun on the hand that was trying to crush them. "Each one of my eyes can take control of an object. I now have control over your friend's hand. There is nothing that can break my control, and with my control, I will destroy the lot of you."

"Like hell you will!" Yammy roared, bringing his free hand around, fingers splayed wide as they grasped for Zommari. "I'll crush you before you can get my other arm!"

"I think not. I no longer seek to control your other arm."

Yammy stiffened suddenly, eyes rolling back in his head as another sun crest appeared, this one on his brow. Without a word, he slumped forward, an almost dazed look appearing in his eyes. Ulquiorra took a half step backward, concern appearing on his usually apathetic face.

"Kurosaki, I think we should-

"Too late, my fellow adjuchas. When I control the head, I control the _entire body."_

"Whoa!"

Faster than Ichigo would have thought possible for someone of Yammy's size, both he and Ulquiorra were caught in the giant's massive fist, with no hope of escape. Without an explanation, Yammy began to squeeze with both hands, and even from the ground, Yachiru could hear their bones breaking and popping, snapping like twigs.

"Hey! You don't get to hurt Icchi!"

The little one was fast, Zommari realized, as a thin gash blossomed across his right shoulder. One of his many eyes focused on, but too late, the pink terror had already dissapeared again, the segemented chitin blades of her elbows raking through his reiatsu hardened flesh once more.

"Oi! Stay away from Ichi-nii!"

A pair of thin sickles abruptly hooked themselves into Zommari's face and found flesh, nearly ripping his mask apart as they lodged deep into the bone of his chin. For a moment, the adjuchas did not reply, that is, until the unbearable agony that came with Karin's poison flared up.

"Gyyyyraaah! My face! _My face!"_ Zommari howled in pain, reaching one fumbling hand up to find the cause of his agony, which was rather easy, considering the fact that Karin had effectively hooked herself in place. Upon grasping her right heel, the adjuchas threw Karin away, clawing at his split nose and severed lip in futility.

"You little wretch! How dare you! How dare you!" With malice in his many eyes, he rounded on her, seizing control of her right arm. Immediately a flurry of gashes appeared across Karin's chest, as her very body turned against itself and cut her down. Unable to move as her own venom worked against her, Karin slumped forward only for a surprisingly familair reaitsu to flare into existence behind her.

"Stay away from my sister, you-you bastard!"

Ulquiorra managed a faint smile, but not Ichigo, he realized it was _Yuzu, _kind gentle Yuzu, whom was doing the attacking, and at the same time, he was both horrified and amazed. _She's just fired a cero, her very first cero,_ Ichigo thought to himself and the adjuchas felt his heart, well, the congregation of souls that was _supposed_ to be his heart, swell with pride.

Simultaneously, he formed a cero between his teeth, jerking his neck around till it produced a sicekning pop. As one, she fired the beam from within her horns, vaporizing the sands into glass as the cero tore towards Zommari.

This was something that Zommari wasn't prepared for. Most Adjuchas didn't have the ability to use cero, thus they had to get in close to him to try to attack, and the closer they were, the easier it was for him to control them.

This was the first time Zommari had ran into an Adjuchas that could effectively attack at range. And given that he lacked a great deal of mobility, it was a rather unwelcome surprise.

The bloated form was barely able to dodge, but as he did, he fell into Yachiru's attack from the other side. The hyperactive hollow raked through three of Zommari's eyes with her razor sharp elbow blades as she darted past. Landing and turning faster than Zommari could react, Yachiru had again tore past him, destroying another four eyes.

Zommari floundered as he tried to regain his equilibrium, but before he could recover, Yuzu was on him as well, another cero taking off one of his arms.

Zommari was partially turned by the force of the cero, and he saw Yachiru coming towards him, only a few steps away. Desperately he reached out with his hand, Yachiru crashing against it as the palm twisted itself at an awkward angle. Taking advantage of the sudden position, he used the eye from point blank range, taking control of Yachiru.

"Y-Yachiru-chan?"

"Kill her!" Zommari screeched to his new puppet through clenched teeth. "Kill her this instant!"

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed as Yachiru turned toward Yuzu, a sun shaped mark on her forehead. "Yuzu, Karin! Run!"

Ulquiorra remained silent, his normally impassive visage twisting itself into a grimace of pain as another rib cracked. Slowly, his tail wriggled out of the crack in Yammy's fist, then pointed it at the massive head of their companion.

"Kurosaki, aim at his head."

"What?!"

"Aim at Yammy's head. The impact should be enough to stun him."

Zommari couldn't make out what his two captives were saying, but he still felt a twinge of worry when redish green light began to gather itself within Yammy's fist. Surely that couldn't be a-

"Karin, Yuzu! GET DOWN!"

Down on the ground below, Karin heard Ichigo's warning, but couldn't move, awed as the massive streak of light shattered four of Yammy's five fingers. Deprived of the bonecrushing grip that no longer held them, the two adjuchas found themselves flung to the ground in a broken heap. Yuzu was too full of fear at Yachriu's abrupt defection, and the current state of her brother to do anything but scream and fire another cero at Zommari.

Spitting out smoke, Zommari had just enough to swear, before Yuzu's third cero tipped him end over end again. It didn't posses enough of an explosion to physically harm him, but it retained more than enough velocity to toss him across the dunes of Hueco Muendo.

"Enough!" Zommari took advantage of Yuzu's distraction and abruptly took control of her arms and legs, as well as Karin's. Having rendered them both motionless, Zommari commanded Yachiru to attack. Unable to defend, the twin sisters could only slump to the sands, each bleeding from a thick puncture wound around their necks. Zommari loomed over them menacingly, the black irises filled with uncontrolled and barely contained fury as they shrank to the size of a speck, prepared to cast another controlling crest. "For what you heathen have done to my face, you'll pay, you'll both PAY!"

"Shit!" Ichigo spit, struggling to rise, and failing miserably, the impact having done more damage than he'd anticipated. "Nel, do something damnit!" Yammy groaned weakly and tried to raise a hand, but he too, had no strength to draw upon, just like Yachiru. Ichigo and Ulquiorra's combined cero had been to much to withstand, and now with a muffled curse, he too collapsed.

_'I...I can't!'_

Just like that, Neliel Tu Oderschvank couldn't move. She wanted to, really she did, but she just couldn't control herself as her trembling body slumped to a heap amongst the sands. He'd picked everyone apart, even Ichigo and Ulquiorra! He'd done it without even breaking a sweat! He'd do the same to her, he would!

"Coward!" Ichigo bellowed, trying to rise, only to flop back down when his arms refused to move. "What the hell're do you think you're doing?!"

Neliel stiffened at the insult. Coward. She was a coward, to lay there while her friends systematically tore themselves apart. She hung her head at that, and began to chew at her lip behind the mask.

_'Coward..._

"I see." Zommari nodded, a glimmer of his calm countenance returning with his speech as Neliel began to trembled."You have lost sovereignty over your emotions. You are too frightened to even consider attacking me. Of course I can understand your fear, its is uncontrollable after all-

"Urusai."

Zommari paused, a confused frown whipping away his words, replaced by a wet squelching sound. A massive spike of white had just tore away a chunk of his shoulder, and now, as he whipped his confused gaze around, a pair of hooves smashed into his face, breaking his nose even further.

He grunted in pain, the grunt becoming a shriek as her teeth sank into his abdomen, and pulled away a think chunk of flesh. Nel gobbled down the tidbit and kicked Zommari away, all before he could breathe, and immediately, Ichigo's suspicions were confirmed. Her entire body became bathed in a violet white glow, creating a reaitsu far beyond that of an adjuchas.

Neliel seemed to realize this too, for she threw back her head and _screamed_, only to be lost from sight moments later as her body exploded into a white brilliance. They weren't left long to wonder the fate of their comrade, for she stalked out of the smoke moments later, utterly, and entirely transformed.

The lower half of a human face, just the mouth and chin, were exposed.

She'd lost some more of the armor around her back and shoulders, confirming the fact that she was indeed femsle. Some of her part mask was gone now, allowing long teal hair to billow out behind her bare back and onto the tan fur of her lower horse half, which now sported four stronger legs.

Her shoulders were covered by armored white spaulders that came across the shoulder blade to the neck. She had white armored elbow guards and white armored gauntlets. The parts of the arm that weren't covered by armor were covered with a black material as well as her hands. There was a white armored ring at the base of her tail, and that was all Ichigo could see from here.

Zommari gibbered a fearful whine before he realized Neliel was well within Yachiru's range. "Get her!" With a few lithe bounds, the little hollow pounced upon Neliel and brought her friend to the ground momentarily pinning her in place.

That is, until Neliel flexed her palm, and grabbed the younger girl by the throat. Yachiru squeaked in surprise, but not for long, as Neliel tossed her overhead and away from the fray, and summarily blasted her out of the sky with a violet cero. She hadn't killed her friend, but Yachiru wouldn't be coming back to harass her anytime soon. And so, Neliel now turned toward Zommari, hazel eyes burning with intense anger. She never wanted to be a vasto lorde. Now that she was one, no one could stand to be around her, she'd feared this all along.

And so it was with menace in her soul that she stalked towards the petrified vasto lorde.

"You'll pay." She growled through clenched teeth. "I'll make you pay."

Only to pause a moment later.

"El Directo."

The cause of _this_ hesitation was the hand that had just exploded through Zommari's chest, and now curled itself into a fist. His mouth tried to form the words, but all that emerged were strangled, disbelieving whispers, pleas for mercy as the reaitsu began to swell inside his body.

"No...please....mercy...

"La Muerte."

Without another word, without another humiliating whimper, the upper half of Zommaru Leroux spontaneously combusted, spraying gore in every conceivable direction. Cut off from its support, his squash like lower half collapsed to the ground, oozing black ichor.

"Chad...Ichigo choked out through his own blood. "What're you...

Sado lowered his fist, which still crackled with electricity. Slowly, the crests dissapeared, leaving Karin and Yuzu to weakly stagger to their feet, and Yammy to groan quietly. Neliel didn't say a word, but instead marched towards where she had thrown Yachiru.

"Looks like I made it in time." With his heel, he nudged the remains of Zommari towards Ichigo and Ulquiorra, the former lashing out with his tail to snip a thick piece of flesh from the bleeding husk, then flicked towards his comrade. "Here."

Although he didn't speak, the message was clear.

Eat him before he dissolves.

Ulquiorra, using all the strength remaining in his battered body, opened his jaws and sank his teeth into the Vasto Lorde's shoulder. He barely managed to get the piece of flesh into his mouth before Zommari dissolved.

Neither one of them said anything else as they lay there in painful anticipation, waiting for the transformation to begin. With their instantaneous regeneration exhaused, and the life threatening wounds sustained from their battle, any further movement would likely result in heavy blood loss.

And so they waited. After about thirty seconds Ichigo's eyes weakly shifted over to Ulquiorra. "You know, if you're wrong about this, I'm going to kill you as soon as we're healed."

Ulquiorra spat out a bloody gob of saliva upon the white sands.

"You're assuming we'll be alive long enough to heal. It's not going to take some other Vasto Lorde very long to come and check out what happened over here, and if we haven't transformed by then-

Ulquiorra broke off as he felt warmth spread throughout his being, power welling up inside him like nothing he had ever imagined. Ichigo's eyes widened, and his arms went slack, dropping Yachiru's limp form. "It's starting."

Ichigo began to glow, red-white Reiryoku pouring out him as his transformation took effect. Next to him, Ulquiorra was surrounded by a green aura as he began to transform as well.

Neliel and the others stepped back in surprise, their faces unreadable through their masks, but their eyes were wide with awe and terror. The reaitsu roared to life, threatening to strangle them for a moment, only to pull itself ever inward, towards the pair of smoke obscurred hollow.

When the power finally died down, Ichigo was completely changed. He had shrunk to around six feet tall, and while his shape had remained generally the same, there were several rather striking changes.

His unruly mane had become long and straight hair, reaching down to his waist, and a Hollow hole even larger than his previous one, decorated with red markings stretched from the hole, across his chest and shoulders. Retractable claws flexed from his fingertips and toes, small furry tufts, two starting from his collarbone and stretching around his neck, and one each on his wrists and ankles, as well as seemingly white skin. In this new form, though his Hollow mask was still _shaped _the same, it now covered Ichigo's entire head, its markings almost resembling tribal tattoo's as it had four spike-shaped marks, two of them stopping by the forehead, and the other two stretching past the eyes and teeth, going past his chin and joining with the marks on his chest. Around his mask, which was broken down around the mout, there was the vaguest outline of a broken heart, ending with the most prominent feature of his transformation, two long forward-pointing horns with black strips extending from their center towards the tips.

Ulquiorra had suffered some major alterations as well.

While he retained his black wings, his long, ragged white was coat is gone, revealing a more defined musculature with his chest bare andlarger hollow hole dripping black, blood-like liquid. His waist had become covered in something similar to black fur, which also covered his arms and legs. His fingers grew claw-like extensions and his feet become like talons. His irises of his eyes turned yellow while the sclera became green. The tear-like marks under his eyes increase and turn black. Ulquiorra's mask had morphed slightly, its remains turning into two long horns, entirely exposing his face. His already powerful tail was longer, thicker, and now sported a jagged tip.

The two exchanged a brief glance, observing the other carefully. For a moment, it appeared as if the alliance was off. After all, now that Ichigo had finally achieved the vasto lorde status he'd been so desperately pining for, and now that Ulquiorra had reached the pinnacle of his evolution, what further need was there for an alliance?

So it came as a complete and total surprise when Ichigo extended his hand to Ulquiorra. The stoic hollow blinked once, twice, three times as Ichigo uttered but one word, in the form of a single, solitary question.

"Partners?"

Ulquiorra hesitated a moment longer, before he mirrored Kurosaki's gestured and clasped the hand of his fellow vasto. The two shook, reaffirming their alliance for the third time that day with Ulquiorra's response.

"Partners."

**_---_**

**_Read, review, enjoy! If you're wondering why Ichigo and the others have become vasto lorde already...well, that's just part of the plot, and if I were to say anymore, the whole story, as well as the universe itself, would collapse. Until then, await the next chapter and read this teaser with baited breath. _**

**_Ja ne!_**

_Preview:_

**_Ichigo: "Hey, where the hell did Nel go? I haven't seen her since she brought Yachiru back. Is she out with Chad or somethin' ?"_**

**_Ulquiorra: "She isn't here anymore, Kurosaki."_**

**_Ichigo:"Eh?"_**

**_Ulquiorra: "She's left us, although I can't understand why." _**

**_Ichigo: "EH?!" _**

**Ulquiorra: "She isn't coming back. I wouldn't recommend chasing her...oh too bad, he's already gone after her. I wonder...if I should try to stop him...?"**

**Chad: "He's gone."**

**Yammy: "Ulquiorra....yer a real bastard, ya know that?"**

**Ulquiorra: "Indeed I am."**

**_Next time: Ichigo. Nel. Understanding each other? The faintest hint of a bond is born?_**


	3. Bombshell

"_Huh?" Ichigo blinked in surprise as Sado returned with what looked like, and smelled like..._

_"A human?" Ulquiorraremained impassive in his speech, but his eyes had widened slightly. So this was the one who was going to heal the other's injuries? Yachiru and the twins were alright thanks in part to Neliel's healing saliva, (although Ulquiorra strongly suspected it was vomit even though she vehemently insisted otherwise)_

_She was as odd as humans came. Bright orange hair, close to red, sporting two hairpins. Eyes that were a hint of violet blue grey, and an ample bossom that appeared to be overly exaggerated. Clad in at hin blue nightgown, barefoot as well, slightly out of breath and looking as if she'd just been dragged out of bed._

_An oddity to be sure._

_"You are Inoue Orihime, are you not?" He was aware of the stares directed upon him for speaking, but at the moment, his curiosity overrode his concern of what his companions might think of this exchange._

_"H-Hai." She stammered nervously._

_Now, the vasto lorde turned his attention to Sado._

_"You did not mention that she was human, Sado Yastura."_

_If it was possible for the peaceful arrancar to bristle, then Sado would have done it right now. As it was, he just shrugged and carefully kept himself between Ulquiorra and Inoue, leading her to a sulking Yammy._

_"I reject." As she spoke these words, a small orange dome appeared over the wrist, and soon extended to cover it entirely._

_"Eh?" The giant adjuchas peered down at the stump that had been his hand, his eyes widening to the point of extrication. "What the...hell?! M-My hand?! " As he looked on, another had appeared from the nothingness, as if no damage had ever been done. "Who...Who the hell is she?!" _

_Quickly, the girl cancelled her technique, and took a small step back to hide herself behind Sado._

_"Tell me, Sado Yastura, where did you find someone with her ability?" Ulquiorra was now eyeing Inoue intently, and that put everyone else at even further unease. "That power I just saw...wasn't any ordinary healing."_

_"It's none of your concern." Sado replied, touching at the air, to rip it open. "She healed your wounds, and now, I will be returning her to her home." Without another word, he, and the human girl, stepped into the blackness and disappeared, leaving the garaganta to snap shut behind them._

--

Ichigo shook his head of the flashback. What a strange girl that was. And that ability, Ulquiorra was right to be wary of it, even if he did seem more curious than concerned. Now, he focused on cleaning his teeth of Adjuchas hide.

"Alright." Ichigo clicked his teeth together, tail swaying happily behind him. "Now this, is what being a vasto lorde should feel like." Ulquiorra was slightly more subtle in the admiration of his own power, but it was clear that he two was more than pleased by the transformation.

"Impressive." His thin tail cracked like a whip, splitting a nearby tree entirely in half. "So now what do we do? Those adjuchas were hardly even a worthy meal."

"Same here-

A small weight dropped onto Ichigo's back, quickly scrambling up to his shoulder. He knew what, or rather, who it was even before he caught the flash of pink out of the corner of his eye.

"Neh, neh, Ichii!" A fully healed Yachiru Kusajishi chirped cheerfully. Ulquiorra just sighed at the spectacle, having slowly grown used the sight of her perching on the shoulder of his fellow vasto lorde. "Ulqi's right, so what _do_ you wanna do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo's grin could be seen behind the cracked mouthpiece as he turned his gaze to Yuzu, who was gleefully soaring through the air on her new wings, whilst Karin and Yammy looked on quietly. "Yachiru, you're next."

"Eeeeeeh?" Behind the mask, her blood red eyes sparkled with barely contained delight. "Really? For _reals?"_

"Really." Ichigo nodded firmly.

"Yatta!" Yachiru squealed, slipping off his shoulder again, this time to bring the good news to Karin and Yuzu.

"I see." Ulquiorra remained silent for a moment longer, before nodding. "You've thought this through, haven't you, Kurosaki."

"Sure have." Ichigo nodded as Neliel trotted up beside them. "After all, its gonna be three vasto lorde against _one_from now on. We've got the numbers advantage on our side now so it oughta be easy, right Nel?

Neliel didn't reply to that, although inwardly she quailed. _Again? _Looking for _more_vasto lorde? At this rate, Hueco Muendo wouldn't last another week with Ichigo and Ulquiorra out on the hunt, especially if they got into a fight with yet _another _vasto lorde.

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"What?" The temperature dropped a few degrees as Ichigo turned towards the arrancar. "Whaddya mean, are ya sure that's wise?" Sado silently folded his arms, but made no further comment on the matter.

"Hell ya!" Yammy's exuberant bellow saved them for now, and all focus shifted to the hulking adjuchaslumbering back towards them. "Its about damn time we got ourselves another mission plan going!" Tilting his massive head to the side, he observed Karin, beckoning for her sister to land.

"Oi, chibi! Get your winged butt down here!"

With nary a sound, Yuzu glided to the sands, her wings folding tightly into her spine just as her padded feet touched the ground. She skipped for a few steps to kill her momentum, before finally slipping to a halt beside her brother.

"I'm here!" She chirped cheerily. "Let's go!"

--

"We're missing someone." Hours later, Ichigo was the first to notice it after they'd happened upon another band of adjuchas, and summarily devoured them moments later. He hadn't particularly paid attention to anyone during the skirmish, and now, after a headcount, they were one short. "Where's Nel?"

"She isn't here." Ulquiorra replied quietly, flicking a bit of blood off his fingers.

"What?"

"She's left us, Kurosaki." Suddenly, the pale vasto glared at his comrade, anger briefly flashing across the deep pools of juniper that made up his irises. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed it yet."

"EH?!"

No one had time to say so much as a word, Ichigo was already long gone.

--

Ichigo was just starting to close in on Neliel's reaitsu, when the cero slammed into him. Aside from a faint twinge of heat in his right side, he didn't feel a thing, but its momentum was enough to shove him noticeably off course. Dusting himself off, Ichigo found his path barred by a quartet of hollows.

"Oi! Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

The last, was clearly a vasto lorde, if her humanoid form and reaitsu were anything to go by. Blonde hair poked out through the very back of her mask. She was lean, slim, a few inches shorter than he, but that didn't make her any less of a threat. If all four of them attacked now, he might actually be in trouble. And so he glared at her three companions first.

"Move." He snarled gruffly, releasing his reaitsu in a clear threat. "Or else."

"Please!" The first hollow snorted. "You wouldn't stand a chance against _us_, let alone Halibel-sama!"

Roughly three seconds passed before the dangerous grin reappeared. Oh, that did it. Arrogance was the absolute worst thing for Ichigo to ever tolerate, and these three _reeked_ of it.

"Is that so?" He began, quietly. "You think I couldn't handle the three of you?"

"Damn straigh-nrgh?!"

The deer like Adjuchas suddenly found herself plowed into the ground within a heartbeat of her reply, Ichigo ripping out a solid hunk of her left flank before the cero between his horns plowed into her.

The lioness adjuchas roared in disbelief, but did not fare much better than her comrade, as Ichigo's tail suddenly extended to double its normal length, curling about her neck with enough force to strangle any offensive comment she might have given.

"Sh-Shoot!"

That being said, the tail drew her sharply towards Ichigo. Another scream filled the air as he sank his teeth into her right thigh, before hoisting her high into the night. Moments later, the serpentine hollow, which had futilely attempted to attack him from behind, now fell flat as Ichigo tossed his captives into her.

"Satisfied?" Ichigo all but growled, turning to face their leader. "I just beat your servants in less than ten seconds, and they couldn't even scratch me. You sure you wanna try your luck?"

The vasto lorde growled, if the rasping sound she made could be considered a growl. It sounded more like a sharp intake of air, closer to a hiss, then a gasping snarl. To Ichigo's amusement, he realized that he'd actually _angered_ her, by taking down her companions.

"I concede that they were weaker than you, but I myself am no weakling. And as such, I will not tolerate the physical abuse of my subordinates, regardless of the circumstances."

"Huh." Ichigo tilted his head to the right, producing a satisfying pop, comingling with another derisive snort. "If you're so _superior_ to me, then what's keepin' ya from attacking?"

"I could ask you the same question." Halibel parried with a verbal jab of her own.

Ichigo attacked first, slashing his sharp claws at Halibel's chest. She ducked the blow with astounding ease; the three Gillian noticed that Ichigo's eyes widened in shock; yet the multi talented hollow succeeded to block the counterattack without much effort and fiercely launched another attack at the other vasto lorde. The claws barely missed the opponent. Ichigo emitted a sharp, frustrated shriek – none of his strokes has reached the target yet and it was a situation he wasn't able to accept as he was momentarily forced to retreat.

The longer they were watching the duel, the more it reminded them of some kind of a graceful, violent waltz: a cut – parried; a smash – countered; and again; the blows and counters stretching into an endless dance. Both of them were excellent warriors; similarly experienced and skilled; their fight was truly a marvelous sight to behold. The three watched the two vasto lorde with awe, completely focused on their smooth moves, as enchanted. Their pondering was interrupted by Ichigo's rumbling growl.

She was...strong. Even for a vasto lorde, she was unbelievably strong, and her speed as close, if not equal to his own. Granted, he had been taking her seriously, but if this were to continue...

Much to Ichigo's surprise, during those few seconds of inattention, the fight had taken a turn for worse. One of Halibel's strokes had reached him; his pale body was now adorned with a long, red gash in his chest. The wound didn't look particularly life-threatening; it only angered the lizard like hollow and made him attack even more viciously than before. Astoundingly, the other vasto lorde now ducked every slash of Ichigo's long claws with ease and her counters were getting harder to parry – to the point when Ichigo wasn't able to block them.

A strong blow to the head struck the lanky vasto lorde down; gasping in disbelief, he fell to the ground. The smaller creature was now towering upon him, preventing him from moving and eyeing the fallen form with contempt.

"Looks like I've won." She said mockingly and slowly raised one of her arms to deal a finishing blow. "Farewell." Then she noticed Ichigo's laughter, and the reason for it.

"What?"

During their battle, Ichigo had never once elected to use tail, and its barbed tip was now nudging the bottom of Halibel's rib cage, pointing upwards. Both of them stood there for a second, neither one moving, neither giving an inch.

"Now, what's the use of doing that?" Ichigo drawled smugly. "I could impale you anytime now, you know that, right? And if you intended to kill me you wouldn't just stand there with your hand pointed at me like that. So what's it gonna be?"

Halibel hesitated, just for a second to mull it over. His words held reason. Now, she could easily kill him in a heartbeat, but with his tail less than a centimeter from her gut, he'd likely inflict serious damage before she could deliver the fatal blow. She did not posses regenerative capabilities, and a wound like that would be a death sentence in Hueco Muendo. Reasonably, she should just withdraw for now, and reengage him at a more suitable opportunity.

Reason.

_That_ was what cost her the advantage.

Halibel winced as his fist exploded into motion, shoving her away from him. Turning around, she saw the other vasto lorde's horns again glowing with red light and a ball of concentrated Reiryoku just ahead of them. Snarling in surprise, she leapt to the side as the beam of Reiryoku blasted through where she was just an instant before. Before the beam had even faded away, she was on the attack again.

Halibel was already most of the way there by the time Ichigo noticed her and she was confident that the other Hollow couldn't move fast enough to counter her. So it came as a complete surprise when one arm came up and a clawed hand caught her in the stomach, just in front of her Hollow hole. The breath whooshed out of her, but she wasn't taken down that easily.

Baring her teeth in a frustrated hiss, she lashed out claws digging into her opponent's shoulder. Or at least she had thought so, before he swayed to the right, his knee finding its target in the center of her navel.

Her head snapped back in pain, but by then, he'd already pivoted, reversing his grip, sliding across her thigh, to ensnare the ankle. Realizing her peril, Halibel twisted her body to the right, his claws scraping harmlessly across the outer edge of her mask, as opposed to tearing her face completely in two.

His frustrated snarl gave her some small satisfaction, and he briefly loosened his grip, whipping her around to get a better angle of attack.

Using the momentum gained from the swing, Halibel slashed at the other Hollow's head, claws catching on one of the horns, tearing it off. It wasn't a fatal blow, her claws not having penetrated to the face beneath the mask, but she was confident that it would prevent him from pulling another cero from between his horns. However, before she'd even completely passed over Ichigo, a new horn grew out of the mask.

Halibel swore.

_'Instantaneous regeneration?!'_She wasn't given time to enjoy the view, because the two foot spike extended out of the tail, glowing with red Reiryoku and ready to run her through.

Throwing herself aside, she gripped the appendage with both hands, and allowed it to carry her. Ichigo seemed to realize this after three seconds, because he instantly changed direction, casting her into the stone.

This time, Halibel was ready. She swiped at the offending boulder with a spiked heel, shattering the rock before she could impact it. Whirling around, a yellow current circled her index finger, making all too obvious what she was planning.

Ichigo snorted in contempt, then raised his horns in a trio pointed edge and thrust both palms forward to aid in the attack. Violet red light flickered at his fingertips, coalescing into the distinctive, fluctuating soccer ball sized sphere that was a cero, between his horns.

Halibel fired seconds later.

Ichigo howled at her, and a tug of war ensued. Red, yellow The two pinpoints of light crashed against one another, creating an orange sphere as the reaitsu surged and buckled under their feet. Within seconds Halibel realized her disadvantage. Whatever his new strength was, it was too much for _her _cero to handle. With a dull thump Ichigo overpowered the yellow cero and the fire rushed forward to consume Halibel. She cried out and threw her arms up to shield her mask as she was lost from sight.

But not for long.

With a punching sound, he was suddenly behind him, a lance of green light raised vertical above his head. Ichigo twitched as Halibel carved a thick gash from his right shoulder to his back, but no sooner had the steel left his chalky white flesh then it did heal, flawlessly.

Halibel hissed in surprise.

"Again?!"

With a shriek, Ichigo rounded on her.

"You're done!"

Halibel had no choice now but to take the attack, the powerful claws opening a hole in her belly. The gash ran down along her flat stomach, and now nearly reached her hollow hole. Thankfully, her skin proved strong enough to render the wound not immediately fatal, but her blood still stained the white sands red beneath her feet as Ichigo ground his claws in further.

Ichigo knew the victory didn't matter , but still, he grinned feeling the pride swelling up in his chest. There she was, at his feet, unable to resist him. Halibel. Weak, helpless, the one who'd claimed to be better than him.

And so he just had to gloat.

"You really want to kill me now, don't you?" He approached so suddenly, that she froze. "I can see it in your eyes." He continued, coming to a stop before her, tapping her on the forehead with a finger, "It's a nice look, for you that is."

It was true, every word, and they both knew it.

He eyed her smugly, realizing she was completely in his power. Why that felt so pleasing, to know that she was completely and utterly beaten, he had no idea, but he wasn't about to stop, not now. "C'mon then." With a nudge of his foot, he kicked some sand towards her. "_Try_ to kill me."

Rage flooding her veins, Halibel forced her body to move.

But no sooner had her fingers curled around the sands, no sooner had she forced herself into a somewhat upright position, then it was over, just like that. Now, _Ichigo _had her pinned to the floor, straddling her, the tip of his tail pressed to her throat, but at the moment, she really wasn't focused, not on _that_.

"You're really something, you know that?" Ichigo snarled at Halibel through his mask, his breath slowly misting out before her. "I might even want you on my team when I take over this place. I'll even let you bring your servants. But right now, I don't have the time to play with you."

When he released her, she threw herself back, prepared for any sort of trick. But whatever Halibel had been about to say, he didn't hear. She glanced up, and Ichigo was gone, already little more than a white speck on the horizon.

Halibel could only shudder.

--

Finally, Ichigo found her reaitsu again. It spiked into the distance for a moment, then dropped, exposing someone on the horizon. Why it had spiked, he had no idea, he was more focused on finding her, rather than the cause of it.

"Nel!" He felt a strange sense of elation when he recognized the figure. She was alright! He sped from a pace that consisted of being on all fours, to a more bipedal pace, and within moments, he had nearly caught up to her. A thousand questions ran through his mind. Why was she this far out? Why'd she even run off in the first place? Why to a LOT of things.

However, when he was less than two feet away, Ichigo Kurosaki noticed something... _strange_. Odd, why was she hiding behind something? Why couldn't he see Neliel's lower half? The thin granite spire she'd sheltered herself behind was enough to hide it, but WHY hite it? Whatever the reason it was, she was trying to stay out of sight, something that wasn't particularly easy in Hueco Muendo.

"Go away!" She saw him now, and ducked out of sight entirely.

"No!" He snapped, sprinting to close the rest of the distance between them.

"Please!" She whirled around then, and his eyes went wide. But she darted around the pillar, and once again escaped his view. He tried again, and again, she evaded him. Finally, in frustration of this little 'Ring around the Rosey' game, Ichigo flat out obliterated the pillar with his tail, forcing her to leap back and away as the two severed halves of granite fell away from each other.

As the smoke cleared, he saw someone, and that someone was NOT Neliel.

She had flowing teal hair with bangs that fell into her eyes, and a skull mask with curved horns was intact on top of her head. Her face was even more beautiful up close, large viridian eyes looking over his bloody, scarred body, with the utmost of fear, the spots of blush under her eyes adding a bit of innocence to her persona.

He could not help but notice that she was impressively well endowed, and clad in little more than green rags and a tattered desert cloak. She was also a good deal shorter than Neliel, who'd been a few inches taller than him. This one, whoever she was, barely went past his chin.

"Eh?" Ichigo blinked in surprise, skidding a halt upon the sands as his momentum left him. This wasn't Neliel, it looked more like a human or an arrancar, instead of the vasto lorde he'd come to know so well. "Who the hell're you? Where's Neliel? I heard her earlier... wait, did you do something to her?!"

The well endowed girl bit her lip and looked away, the tears welling up in her hazel eyes at his badgering questions. This was all that shinigami's fault! He'd found her led her away during the battle, and now...now...now he'd done _this_to her, then up and vanished! How could she explain this to Ichigo?! When she finally found the will to speak, her voice came out as little more than a tiny, ragged sob. He had to strain his ears to hear her.

"Ichigo..._I'm...Nel."_

Stunned as he was, Ichigo could only choke out a single word.

"W-Wha?"

**_Next time: Understanding part two: Confusion, anger, acceptance._**


End file.
